Friday

Dec 14, 2018 at 4:14 AM

A quaint and snow-covered village, twinkling lights and a church choir singing “O Holy Night” set the scene for “Ben Is Back.” But on this Christmas Eve, there’s no Yuletide cheer, only the gift of Julia Roberts as a tenacious mother heartbreakingly going full-throttle to rescue her drug-addicted son (Lucas Hedges). The four-time Oscar nominee hasn’t been this dogged since she won for “Erin Brockovich,” and deserves to be recognized again for one of the year’s most affecting performances as Holly Burns.

Written and directed by Peter Hedges (“Dan in Real Life,” and the father of Lucas), “Ben Is Back” is about a son unexpectedly home from rehab for Christmas. The short and surprising visit reopens wounds and stirs haunting memories for the family. Just a delicate 77 days clean, Ben, 19, swears he’s ready to be home. Holly’s second husband (Courtney B. Vance) and teen daughter, Ivy (Kathryn Newton), are skeptical. This isn’t the family’s first rodeo. Ben’s sobriety is put to the test when demons resurface and temptations appear, like the stash of drugs hidden up in the attic behind the Christmas ornaments. Even a Narcotics Anonymous meeting turns into a landmine.

Though Ben assures the family “this time will be different,” the holiday mood still catapults from festive to fragile. Even the two youngest children sense something is off, no matter how many peanut butter-and-potato chip sandwiches Ben makes them. Holly immediately cleans out the medicine cabinet and hides her valuable jewelry. She’s anxious, trying to strike a balance between trust and suspicion. Ground rules are set: “You do not leave my sight.” Ben agrees. Oh, but the push-pull of addiction doesn’t care if it’s Christmas and the script sends Ben down the rabbit hole with Holly hot on his heels over a frantic 24 hours.

The pace moves in what feels like real time, adding a sense of urgency. Addiction dramas tend to slip into the rote, and that’s occasionally the case here. During a chance encounter at the mall, Holly tells off the doctor who first prescribed Ben narcotic painkillers at age 14. It feels contrived, but it’s cathartic as heck watching Roberts rip apart the old sawbones. Yet, “Ben Is Back” manages to avoid most of the cliches. The powerful one-two punch of Hedges (the actor) and Roberts, who does Mama Bear mettle like nobody’s business, see to it. She’s equal parts F-bombs and hugs. I still can’t shake a scene in a cemetery, where Holly asks Ben: “Where do you want me to bury you when you O.D.?”

Hedges (the director) begins to lose his grip later in the movie when his script separates Ben and Holly. The plot begins to strain credulity, as mother and son search the town for the family’s missing dog. The pursuit takes Holly and Ben to some seedy areas, forcing them to tackle festering issues. As the movie makes a break for its gripping climax, Hedges (the actor) and Roberts elevate the material so passionately you can’t resist rooting for them.

There’s a reason Hedges, the breakout star of "Manchester by the Sea," is one of Hollywood’s busiest actors -- he starred in “Mid90s” and “Boy Erased” earlier this year. He’s just that good. He infuses Ben with equal parts charm and desperation, and possesses the ability to give subtle nuances to characters that in a lesser actor’s hands would become clichéd. We’ve seen Ben’s story before, in fact “Ben Is Back” is the second movie this season after “Beautiful Boy” to depict drug dependency challenging the concept of unconditional and boundless parental love. But this one has Roberts, and she’s addictive.